Malloy adds $1M to Norwich school funds for next year

The Norwich School District is in line for $1.02 million in additional educational funding in 2013-14 under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed two-year spending plan, though local officials are withholding cheers for at least a few more months.

The Norwich School District is in line for $1.02 million in additional educational funding in 2013-14 under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s proposed two-year spending plan, though local officials are withholding cheers for at least a few more months.

“The legislators will be the ones to keep it or cut it. I certainly don’t think they’ll vote to put in more,” Board of Education chairwoman Yvette Jacaruso said Tuesday, after a budget committee meeting. “We’re hoping they keep it the same.”

Malloy will present his biennium budget to a joint session of the General Assembly today and he announced Tuesday his proposal will include a suggested $152 million more to the Educational Cost Sharing formula — a state funding program that helps equalize education costs in 117 communities.

According to preliminary estimates presented Tuesday by Norwich Superintendent Abby Dolliver, the city would get $34.36 million in ECS money next year — up from $33.34 million right now.

That’s a 3.08 percent increase.

“I want to hear how it shakes out and if there are any parameters,” Dolliver said. “We can always use it for school reform and improvement.”

Under Malloy’s proposal, the fund would be increased by $50.7 million in fiscal year 2014 and $101.5 million in 2015.

“These additional resources will help position our state’s school districts to advance key reforms, such as teacher evaluation, implementation of the Common Core and turnaround of low-performing schools,” Stefan Pryor, the state’s education commissioner, said in a written statement.

Also Tuesday, city educators said Norwich Free Academy’s 4-percent tuition hike will mean at least a 1.89 percent in the public school system’s budget.

And taxpayers may be asked to approve a capital bond later this year to pay for security upgrades within the school district. The Board of Education’s building and space committee meets today to discuss the issue in greater detail.

Business Administrator Athena Nagel said officials aren’t ready with a price for the bond, but hope to upgrade the phone system, enabling the district’s roughly 650 phones to tie in to Norwich Public Utilities, providing new features like caller ID, voice over Internet and improved reliability.

Dolliver said the district also hopes to find money to hire two more mental health workers to make sure each school is adequately staffed.

“At least it would help us be more proactive in dealing with the issues that kids are dealing with,” Dolliver said.